The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has confirmed that it is intensifying efforts to ensure the activation of Nigeria’s planned 112 national emergency number following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
The Chairman of its Governing Board of the NCC, Chief Idris Olorunnimbe, made this disclosure when he led a delegation to a meeting with the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Olorunnimbe told the Vice President that the NCC had already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support a unified national emergency response system.
He explained that the next phase of implementation would focus on closer collaboration with state governments and emergency response agencies to ensure the effective rollout of the 112 emergency call number nationwide.
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Olorunnimbe maintained that the successful adoption of the number would depend on the commitment of state governments to support and maintain emergency communications infrastructure, as well as the readiness of response agencies to promptly attend to distress calls.
He said: “We need commitment at every level of all response agencies—from top to bottom—including the Nigeria Police Force, ambulance services across the states and, at the national level, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” he said.
In his remarks, the Vice President directed the NCC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the single emergency number by collaborating with the NEMA in line with international best practices.
Shettima assured the commission of the government’s commitment to ensuring the successful activation of the 112 national emergency number, adding that funding for the exercise will be mobilised through the National Economic Council and partnerships with the organized private sector (OPS).
Industry experts believe that the adoption of 112 emergency call number will harmonise emergency communications in the country by providing a single number through which citizens can quickly access police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
The initiative is also expected to replace multiple emergency contact numbers currently in use and improve coordination and response during emergencies.
It would be recalled that NEC recently approved the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number across all tiers of government and emergency response agencies, and the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee to be jointly coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the NCC.
